Dragon Eggs Under the Tree (Starscale Mates #4)

Chapter Nineteen

Stellan

Saer bounced from foot-to-foot, flapping his wings behind him as we waited for Brender to join us in the living room. It took us longer to get started than it might’ve if we were still on our own, but Saer didn’t seem to mind that our new addition wasn’t a morning person. He minded even less when his Uncle Oliver knocked on the door and held things up until he stamped the slushy, purple snow from his boots.

Finally, when he was settled in and Brender had a mug of steaming coffee in hand, we let Saer tear into his presents. Some parents tried to preserve the paper mache eggs, but he’d only be a kid once. If wanted to smash them open or rip into them, he could go at it and for the most part he did. The eggs were stuffed with new clothes, picture books, and little nicknacks that would keep him busy. Brender had added in a lot of toy boats and a book that was a little too old for him about how old ocean ships were once built. He paused on it, flipping through to look at the pictures. I had a feeling we’d be reading that book aloud to Saer before we knew it.

He left the egg that Brender had painted the beautiful ocean scene on until last. Saer walked around it, taking in the view as if that was the gift.

“Will you help me?” he asked, looking over his shoulder at the three of us.

“Yeah, buddy,” Brender nodded before I had the chance to say anything.

He sank onto the floor and cut the seal that kept the two parts of the egg together. Saer’s mouth dropped open at the amount of boat stuff that Brender managed to stuff into it. There was a model kit, several more books about boats that he probably wouldn’t be old enough to read for quite some time, and a big rolled up sail.

“Sail and no boat?” he squinted at it and then sniffed it.

“Well, I guess we’ll have to go outside to see if they left it there,” Brender said, pushing himself upright and reaching out for Saer’s hand.

“What’s he planned?” I whispered to Oliver.

“You’ll see,” Oliver shrugged. “I’m not getting descaled for ruining the surprise.”

“Come on, you two,” Brender waved for us to follow them as he grabbed the throw off the back of the sofa and wrapped Saer up in it. “You gotta stay warm, buddy. Even if we’re on an egg hunt you gotta stay warm.”

“I know, I know,” Saer laughed. “Don’t put me in the fire!”

“Keep that wrapped tight then,” Brender laughed, and I couldn’t help but smile.

He was so fucking perfect. So good with Saer. Good at planning surprises too, apparently. He winked at me over his shoulder as he scooped up Saer to save his little feet from the snow that was still coming down outside.

“FOOTPRINTS!” Saer screeched as soon as the front door swung open.

“They must’ve had to walk some of the way,” Oliver called out to them as we caught up.

“Let’s see what happened out here,” Brender said. “I bet the whole boat couldn’t fit in one egg. So, they had to store some of it in that other one. The wild dragons are smart like that.”

Brender carried Saer around the side of the house and he screeched again, clapping his hands and squirming to get down.

“Nope,” Brender laughed. “Your toes will fall off.”

A few feet ahead of us sat the largest gift egg I’d ever seen. At least the widest. Perhaps not the tallest. It was a pale, watery blue color with a proper artisan made hinge to open and shut it. Brender squatted down and rested Saer on his knee so he could pop it open. He squealed again and nearly toppled both of them backward. Inside were many pieces of wood and metal that I guessed would eventually with time, effort, and some decorating become a little boat of some sort.

“A WHOLE BOAT!”

“A one Saer sized boat,” Brender nodded, and Saer hugged his neck tight.

Now I knew why Oliver had turned down our invitation to stay overnight. He had to be outside the house to make Brender’s plan work. Oliver carried the boat filled egg into the garage and we all headed back inside for breakfast. Saer talked a mile a minute about all his new stuff and where he’d like to take the boat once it was ‘ocean-worthy.’

After breakfast, Saer announced he had a gift for the baby who wasn’t here yet. I bit my lip unsure of what to expect. He smelled more relaxed about his incoming sibling, but I wasn’t sure what he managed to get up to without us knowing. He grabbed my hand and then Brender’s before telling Oliver to come on too. He led us all the way to the back of the house and then up the steps to the room that was once the closest thing he had to a nursery: The nesting room.

“I put stuff in there for the baby. Jammie and stuff. The baby will have to eat a lot. Babies are always hungry. I remember. I could eat all day and never feel full. I did eat all day. I still like to eat all day.”

“You’re a dragon, buddy,” I chuckled as he scurried up the side of the nest and into it using the familiar handholds.

Kiddo had definitely loaded the nest up with food and toys. I didn’t ask when he found time to do this because I worried that it was before he ran away to Oliver’s and didn’t want to bring that up again.

“Where are we going to put the egg?” Brender laughed, leaning on the ledge of the nest.

“We can rearrange it. I just wanted to make sure the baby ate.”

“This explains where all the snacks went when I looked for them yesterday. Thought you raided the pantry, buddy,” I laughed.

“I just moved the stuff. Do you think the baby will care if I’m here too?”

“I think the baby will love that,” Brender said.

“I think so too. I know so. If you were the baby you’d want your big brother around, huh?” I asked him.

“Daddy. I’m already here. I can’t have a big brother. I can have a little brother but time-chines aren’t real. So, I don’t know. I don’t remember being in my egg either. So I don’t know.”

“That’s alright,” I nodded. “We’re family, buddy, and if you’re okay with the baby being in the nest, I bet the baby will be okay with you being in the nest too.”

“I’m going to eat some of the jammie now,” he said, picking up a jar and handing it to Brender to open for him.

Usually, I’d insist on him having some protein with all that sugar and those carbs, but it was Yuletide. Some things could slide today.